#please talk to me about aftg

[ousommeh]

i just began my second reading of all for the game (i just reached the first dinner with abby so sorry if i’m miss remembering what is coming, BUT)

i thought when people said on the second pass it became a slow burn they were being intense. we’ve all seen shippers go nuts over nothing just because they see what they want to see (i’ve done it myself) but it actually becomes a slow burn??? it also becomes so fucking sad.

maybe it’s me being me but reading neil think andrew was being an asshole for joking about snooping on his files? i mean andrew IS mostly an asshole but when he sees neil panick/rage and he immediately tells him he never read them? that he respected his privacy? he even tells neil the thought process to try and prove it. he’s not nice about it but i found it so sweet in his own way? at this point he doesn’t like neil at all (maybe a little bit?) but he still tries to prove to this asshole kevin insisted on bringing to the team that he’s respecting his boundaries? yes he does go through neils things (and drugs him) but i’m fairly sure it’s only because he truly believes neil might be a serious threat for kevin and the team.

i just love reading andrew being andrew now that i know who he is and seeing all this little things that had no sense. he’sjust a broken child trying his best to keep the ones he loves safe

[dayurno]

robin cross and kevin day parallels actually go so crazy. they both spent their formative years in a basement underground with exy-obsessed captors. they both saw exy as freedom. they both were isolated even within the foxes’ group of outcasts. they were both under andrew’s protection. it cost kevin jean to leave the nest and it cost robin another girl’s life to escape her kidnapper. robin carried her racquet with her to self-soothe and kevin restrings the net of his when he’s anxious. they’re even bird coded

[queer-lovebot]

Neil as a Raven is the most unsettling thing you could ever think of. He’s a guy who would stare a Lot. A silent stare. That butcher look that he wears? Yeah, that constantly. Some guy who plays with knives for fun and likes mind games.

And then you get him outside the Nest and he’s not only unsettling but super annoying and childish. He knows how to dress but purposely dresses terribly as a resistence against the Nest. Andrew would fall for him easily.

[ittyybittybaker]

“neil is living in andrew’s walls” this is going to live in my brain forever now, much like neil in andrew’s walls,

listen i wrote those tags when i was half asleep and i thought that would be it but i am, in fact, still thinking about it !!!! i picture it like this

nicky and the twins live together in the columbia house (kevin technically doesn't live there but he's at their place like 5 nights a week so he might as well at this point)

the columbia house is OLD, like over 100 years so there's all sorts of weird crawl spaces and an attic that no one ever goes into

neil's on the run, jumps into an open window, and finds their crawl space

maybe he's injured and needs a place to lie low for a while

he heals, but their house is reasonably safe and he can steal food from their kitchen when no one's home and he's made a kind of comfy nest in the attic

his favorite spot tho is the crawl space behind andrew's room because nicky and aaron are too loud (nicky with talking to erik and aaron with katelyn/video games probably). andrew just listens to music and like. reads or something

as he heals, neil gets braver and starts to go out into the house more and more. maybe he cleans up the kitchen every now and then or he folds the towels they leave in the dryer as a thank you for their unknowing hospitality

(really he's just bored from being cooped up for so long, even if their house is the nicest place he's stayed in a long while.)

the cousins start to notice weird things are happening

nicky thinks the house is haunted

aaron thinks they're all just being forgetful about what they leave around the house

kevin thinks they need to check the carbon monoxide detector (he saw a documentary about it once and won't stop talking about it)

but andrew doesn't believe in the supernatural, and he also doesn't think it's a mass hallucination

he spends the most time at home, and he swears he's heard a muffle laugh or too when he makes fun of kevin

and what ghost changes the channel to espn

he swears he sees someone with striking blue eyes in the kitchen one night around 3am when he's getting a glass of water but when he turns on the light there's no one there and the doors are locked from the inside

kevin's not the only one who's seen a documentary, and andrew's just watched one about a man living in someone's walls

he mentions his theory one day at breakfast but everyone just thinks he's making fun of them, so he makes a plan to prove himself right

he researches into the history of the house and find the blueprints in some archival records, and sees the weird spaces in the walls (at the library of course, if there was someone living in his walls he wouldn't risk them seeing his investigating)

neil thought he was being careful, but he was getting comfortable there and he forgot to clean up his attic nest one day. he snuck out to grab some much needed supplies from the store and also to stretch his legs

this just so happens to be the day andrew goes investigating, and finds neil's hideaway

he's there waiting for neil when he returns

somehow neil convinces andrew to let him stay by saying "you've already taken in one stray after all (aka kevin) so why not another?"

andrew has to admit, he's got a point. and he really is very pretty

so andrew lets neil hideout in his room instead of in the crawl space behind the walls

andrew starts spending a lot more time in his room. the others hear strange noises and shuffling from behind the door, even when andrew isn't home

nicky and aaron think he's adopted a pet without telling them

(they're only half wrong)

yadda yadda andriel do their thing, they build trust by sharing secrets and truths and kisses, etc

andrew decides that neil is a permanent addition to his life, and he won't ever have to hide away again

one day nicky and aaron come home and andrew's cuddling on the couch with neil

"andrew, who is this"

"this is neil."

"cool ... where did he come from"

"he was living in the walls."

"... i'm sorry, what?"

"i was right. you both owe me $20"

"...i'm sorry, WHAT?"

"ssshhh, can you keep it down? he just fell asleep."

"Andrew. what the actual FUCK-"

unfortunately, andrew is no longer paying attention. he's much too busy playing with neil's hair as he dozes

and they all lived happily ever after and no body ever lived in the walls ever again

[swampthingking]

i think we moved on from this too quickly—

[afurtivecake]

I think that waterboarding kevin would also be in his list atp

oh, yeah, i bet riko would love the chance to waterboard kevin. being able to create such profound trauma responses in kevin is probably the dream. although, at the risk of getting weirded out looks...(by the way cw: discussion of torture)

...i would say, waterboarding feels a bit..... too impersonal to use on kevin? it's not just about physical torture that won't leave marks for people to question, it's also about keeping the abuse just shy of intolerable so that kevin wouldn't seriously start to wonder if riko wanted to hurt him for real. i feel like part of keeping control of kevin and keeping kevin at his side is maintaining the impression of caring for kevin enough to never truly intend to hurt him irreparably. and waterboarding is...well it's mercenary and callous and about breaking people with no regard for how they will fare after...it would be harder for riko to justify doing it to kevin. i don't know...maybe with kevin it would be something more intimate and controlled? something like holding his head under water for a bit? i feel like waterboarding is one of the things riko may have reserved for jean alone. because torturing jean and torturing kevin are slightly different things. jean is literally disposable to riko; the power trip comes from hurting him as badly as riko can manage and knowing that he'll never run. with kevin, i'm thinking it's more like...hurting him badly enough but still being able to smooth things over afterwards and soothe the pains? it's so fucked up, but i think the way riko shows he cares is by being considerate and careful enough with kevin so that kevin still comes out of it relatively ok. because at the end of the day, he needs kevin to be ok.

[achillesinagaypanic]

I will add myself to the AFTG clutter, well after the trilogy is done:

Currently on TRK after finishing TFC in 2 days, I am hopeful to continue my quick reading. Some notes on my read so far:

I am having a hell of a laugh reading out all of Jean's dialogue with a french southern accent because peuchère il est marseillais le peutchi

I am also crying at the littlest things, like the showers in the first away-game against the terrapins (which I was surprised to discover is apparently a turtle??) But big events leave me indifferent (like Seth, but I think that was meant to be seeing as Neil had about the same reaction) or numb and in shock (like learning Neil BELONGS TO THE MORIYAMAS??? HELLO???? I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING????)

I should be doing homework. I am not. I will get in trouble. But at least I'll know how this all ends. I love theatre but the power of Adhd hyperfixation is stronger than me </3

I am VERY AFRAID to interact with fandom because I don't want to get spoiled (looking at you, dr who hyperfixation where I know way too much because of AO3) but I will be glad to update to you all my reactions through text as I read through this (though I will slide over most of the "I wish I could go in there and hold/punch him/her"s and "Omg he's so fucking hot"s)

Every character of the team is so fucking attractive and I was 100% shaming myself for my reaction when Kevin full-body-pinned Neil against the wall. 1/2 of my thoughts and reactions are "when is it my turn" or "omg let's switch places".

I was extremely worried when Neil woke up in Nicky's arms after having been drugged because like ???? Did they do anything ????? But then realized that Nicky would do no such thing, despite repeatedly talking about it.

The girls have all my love, seriously, Dan is wonderful as a captain AND as a friend, Renee is so nice I aspire to have her self-control, Allison needs a hug.

ALSO!!! IN THE SHIPS!!! (Because I did discover this off of a gay edit between Andrew and Neil "Yes or no Neil? / It's always yes with you") I fucking love that I can ship Andrew, Neil and Kevin interchangeably. Like, Guard dog and Hurt runaway? Fuck yes. Famous but kept captive and Underdog but free? You got it. Anxiety ball and Dangerous but somehow reassuring? Give me all of it.

OKAY now I need to let my newfound knowledge sink in because wtf was that conversation (Neil and Kevin about the whole lore thing), thank you for reading my thoughts as an excited first-time reader

[del-stars]

is anybody else constantly thinking about the kevin day/sirius black parallels. the jean moreau/regulus black parallels, even. having to leave your abuser and it breaks your heart to leave them behind but you know they won't come with you. jean loving kevin and wanting to forgive him, but they will never be friends again. when neil goes to the nest and riko's left kevin's room exactly the way he left it, like a shrine? did nora read atyd

[soulreapin]

neil josten and percy jackson are variants of each other and in this essay i will

[luvbug724]

do you think kevin/jean/renee could ever be something....... not in canon but you know. in our hearts

DO I EVER. anon are you in my brain. i had this thought like three hours ago. anyway YES absolutely especially if we take them slightly out of canon and to the left. jean has two hands.

i think the most plausible way it would happen is if jean stayed at psu which would expedite his reconciling-with-kevin timeline. instead of after the finals as per EC it would be like. a month in bc they literally cannot avoid each other the flip side of this is that he would probably be less adjusted than he would be with the trojans bc the foxes will always have riko & the ravens hanging over their heads.

i also think renee and jean would be together officially at this point like i don't think it would take jeanee very long after jean starts at psu at all. in my heart they start a relationship after jean goes to usc anyway bc i can't part with them but you know. That pesky little thing (the EC whom i love dearly) exists to tell me they do not. cue: a very confusing conversation with renee bc i don't think jean can keep a secret from her after she was his only outlet for all those months they were texting wherein he is like "renee i think i am in love with kevin" and renee is like " i know :) are you going to do anything about it?" and poor jean is like "What. Am i what. You??? What ???? KEVIN!!! as in DAY!!"

now if we're talking like Full all everyone everything poly.......... i don't know i really don't. i just genuinely can't think of a single time renee and kevin talk to base my opinion around. but i think both of them would love jean enough to just let him do whatever :) this is my boyfriend jean and this is jean's boyfriend kevin :) sometimes kevin and jean start acting insane bc the nest is hanging over them & renee is like Wow. Does anyone want pancakes and maybe to go to church?they all share a giant bed bc jean and kevin are huge but renee and kevin sleep on opposite sides & sometimes one of them needs to sleep on their own so. renee and kevin sharing a bed no jean! let's think about this for a second too now. maybe they fall in love with each other bc of jean i think that's cute. this too is yuri

[only-god-canstopme]

one of my fondest hc is that i truly truly believe that the hatfords are either scottish or northern english. and a much smaller gang than the moriyamas/wesninskis in general. it just makes more sense to me.

i like to think that the hatfords are more working class,not in wealth but culturally, and that mary wanted more than that. she grew up wanting to be amongst higher society, to be rich and boast about it too. and when she got the opportunity to leave with a man who offered that lifestyle, the glamour and shimmer and appeal of old dirty money, she jumped at it. she left her family behind, thinking she could do better than them. and she told them that too. she thought she’d be more than she was with her family, be an equal to nathan in his business and at home.

and she was, until she got pregnant. and then suddenly she was a mother, instead of a person. the one who caused a problem by getting pregnant. now nathan had something he had to deal with, to get rid of so he could continue his work with the moryiamas. the cruelty she’d been exempt from till this point was suddenly turned on her and her son. Neil became the only thing she had. and she had to risk everything for him.

and once it all went south, the shame and the guilt, and the belief that the hatfords couldnt deal with problems this big, ate away at her until she was on an island of two. her and neil. and while she loved him, she really loved him, neil had torn her away from the life she had made for herself. from the position she deserved to have, among the prestige and wealth. so she resented him.

what she didn’t know, was that for her, her family would’ve made themselves bigger. for neil, they increased their base and standings in uk and made themselves important to the moriyamas. they extended business overseas. they would’ve fought for her had she asked.

[intheairfryer]

sunshine court has ruined me (NO SPOILERS PLZ !! im not done yet ahh whfheh) i need more aftg enjoyer friends pleaseee someone talk to me🙏‼️

[high-queen-of-the-court]

i know aaron minyard has flaws, but i relate to THREE things about him

some random ginger bitch was able to change my [older] sibling in like two weeks when i couldn’t in 10+ years

if i’m not perfect in school i will literally jump off a cliff

i hate people

thank you

[undertheceiling]

sooo… coming back here feels so exciting and a bit nerve-wracking, especially when you’re starting something new. I've decided to challenge myself by writing in english. cringe will be starting now. let’s go

my full name is Anastasia, but u can call me Tasia, I’m 21 years old girl, from Baltic States (and really wanna leave). I love reading, especially books that take you to another world, working at escape rooms seven days a week, and so much love singing. basically

I’m here to meet new friends and read about all for the game trilogy, however, I also enjoy discovering new things, and besides aftg, I like a lot of other things as well. in return, can teach you russian or latvian memes. I'm really looking forward to making new connections, especially if you want to practice english with me. feel free to message me <3

[afurtivecake]

no, but really, if you felt like you need more cult-y sports, fucked up sibling dynamics, bitchy divas, jocks with a few screws loose, and traumatized little guys with huge attitude problems after AFTG, may i suggest Blue Lock. also vice versa

[ittyybittybaker]

yoooo my partner and I are both fellow cast members with severe aftg brainrot, I just found your blog and got VERY excited!! Also we have talked EXTENSIVELY about the foxes going to disney (we think they'd like Epcot the best) I loved your writing snippets about it!

AAAHHHHH thats so cool !!!! I can't believe there's other CM who like aftg !!!! This ask legit inspired me to write more of my foxes at Disney fic omg